Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You

"little things", "time escaping" & "no reason" all > "not", as good as "not" is

I was just forwarded this (haven't read it yet): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/big-thief-new-album-adrianne-lenker-interview-1272814/

it's a good read, most interesting tidbits are that "wake me up to drive" is "drum-machine pop" (which makes sense actually revisiting the live version) & they directly suggest that there could be another album's worth of material to be released from the dragon sessions

!!

they were already hinting that it was a possibility in a previous interview (45 songs were recorded so it could even be another double), just a bit more here

Through it all, the band held on to a firm internal sense of self. “We all have our own Big Thief-i-ness barometers,” says Krivchenia. “We did some stuff that, listening back to it, we were like, ‘Wow, people would flip if they heard this… but it’s not Big Thief-y.'”

Aw… don’t do me like that, man

japanese version has two bonus tracks, "dragon new warm mountain i believe in you (tucson version)" and "light is as is". the tucson sessions were where they recorded the album's rootsier material so i imagine it'll be quite a different take on "dragon"

I am very much hoping that 2022 is the year I get to see Big Thief live. None of the currently announced dates are anywhere near me, but maybe there will be more ...

Through it all, the band held on to a firm internal sense of self. “We all have our own Big Thief-i-ness barometers,” says Krivchenia. “We did some stuff that, listening back to it, we were like, ‘Wow, people would flip if they heard this… but it’s not Big Thief-y.'”

Aw… don’t do me like that, man

― i woke up alarmed (morrisp), Friday, January 7, 2022 12:27 AM (eight hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is such an important part of being a good band

"Simulation Swarm" is out now. Sounds a little like something off U.F.O.F., with a country turn in the chorus.

so good, love the fretless bass

DRINKING A BEEEEEEEEEER

I stopped listening to the pre-release tracks, I'm just ready to luxuriate in the whole thing.

this album is going to be incredible and i am already annoyed at how it will inevitably renew the big thief backlash

not so sure - i'm someone who was not a very big Big Thief fan (i found the songs sort of muddy and land-locked) but almost everything in the past year has been extraordinary, full of grace and lift, and it's turned me from backlasher into fan

ive been listening to the pre release tracks as a mini album of sorts, after ignoring the stuff for nearly all of 2021. flows nicely, tho nearly every track they’ve released since “little things” has been better than that one

i think that “spud infinity” is my favorite, big old weird america feeling going on

I'm extremely ready for this album to be of varying quality, like all their albums ;)

is there a big thief backlash? i don't want to meet these people irl

The little woodwind & gtr jam at the end of "No Reason" is such hot sh1t... I just love it

exact same sitch as sean gramophone for me.

there will be a backlash, but it'll be dwarfed by the "album of the year / america's best band" hype, i bet.

I thought the backlash happened already (that NYT editor who called them "emperor's new clothes" or whatever)

I wish you could do backlashes where you were like 'yeah they're pretty good but there's quite a few bands I prefer', but the Discourse doesn't like that sort of equivocation, they either have to be The Best or Overrated Nonsense

I will say this: much as I've enjoyed the other preview songs so far, I just don't get what's good about Little Things at all

I wish you could do backlashes where you were like 'yeah they're pretty good but there's quite a few bands I prefer',

thats not a backlash that's you.

I just don't get what's good about Little Things at all

It sounds like listening to your Walkman on a warm summer night in 1989, watching the stars come out...

good description, i think i like it now!

it's this wild shifting shimmering thing & their playing is incredible, really highlights their chemistry as a band. it's also just really distinct & fresh, what else out there actually sounds like this? it's interesting because it's really one of their least singer-songwritery tunes, much more of a free-flowing jam where the vocals weave in and out in the same way as the lead guitar. has anyone figured out what's actually going on with the time signature yet

i wasn't on board with them (i'd heard capacity and wasn't moved though i had enjoyed abysskiss a little) until i was blown away by u.f.o.f. and returning to capacity since then made it really open up for me.

Through it all, the band held on to a firm internal sense of self. “We all have our own Big Thief-i-ness barometers,” says Krivchenia. “We did some stuff that, listening back to it, we were like, ‘Wow, people would flip if they heard this… but it’s not Big Thief-y.'”

Isn't this what b-sides are for?

Good point!

Looking forward to "Big Thief Gets Weird."

In the meantime I'm guessing this next one will be their strongest record by far.

reports from those who've got the album early are that the studio version of "dragon" is a mellow folk tune like adrianne's solo version and not the awesome rock version they've been playing live

hope the rock version is the jp bonus track then

I heard some folks' preorders are arriving already

With this album, Big Thief stand to become my second-favourite Wilco, ahead of Califone

You mentioned that in another thread; I don’t really hear a Wilco connection

I think Time Escaping is when I realised they could pull off the 'art Americana' thing; it reminded me of Art Of Almost a bit. Here's to them overriding their Big Thiefiness barometers more in future

they're better at being "the american radiohead" than wilco ever were

folk version of the title track is absolutely gorgeous but i still hope we get a studio version of the live version

one of the prettiest things they've ever done

yeah this is clearly their best album but also surprisingly cohesive, it's not really a wildly eclectic double album like it seemed like it was shaping up to be. it's all firmly within the folk/country/dreamy rock vibe they'd established even if they get creative with the arrangements. i get why they didn't put the rock "dragon" on here, it would have been quite a departure from that vibe.

read that they recorded the title track at each of their recording locations and might release several of the versions down the road

yeah there's another version coming on the japanese release as a bonus track and if that's not the live version then they're the sort of band where it seems totally possible for it to show up on the second album from these sessions they've indicated is also on the way.

on first listen my favourite of the unreleased tracks are the title track & "flower of blood" which is vaguely cocteau twins-esque

How’s “Red Moon”?

it's good, sounds pretty much like the live version except with additional fiddle, like most of the other country tracks

the album is really so good all the way through, like "sparrow" is probably the weakest track and it's still better in context

lenker is the best songwriter of her generation

"wake me up to drive" is almost a magnetic fields song

lenker is the best songwriter of her generation

― ufo, Monday, 7 February 2022 12:15 (thirty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

while this may be a decent shout, a reminder that a certain ms natalie mering is going to be releasing something this year ;)

nonetheless i am excited to hear this in full, hopefully it'll be arresting all the way through

lenker is the best songwriter of her generation

don't disagree with that, really, but give me Liz Stokes.

Does anyone know why that colored vinyl version on bandcamp is called "eco-friendly"? Is it made out of root beer flavored hard candy or something?

Today, Adrianne Lenker (of Big Thief) announces a new online songwriting workshop through School of Song. The course will be taught online via live Zoom lectures across 4 consecutive Sundays –– January 7th, January 14th, January 21st, and January 28 –– with 2 lecture sessions on each class day to accommodate different time zones: 11 AM PT and 6 PM PT. Recorded lectures will be available and sent out afterwards for those who are unable to attend at those times.

Every week, Adrianne will give a lecture on subjects specific to her songwriting process. Each class will result in a homework assignment to write a song using the techniques discussed in the lecture. In addition to the lectures, there will be weekly song-sharing sessions composed of peer review and an additional hour of live Q&A with Adrianne.

The cost of the workshop is $160 total, and a 20% discount is available for those who sign up with a friend. The deadline to sign up is Saturday, January 6th at 11:59 PM PT. The course is geared towards anyone with an interest in songwriting in general or Adrianne’s process in particular, from absolute beginners to seasoned songwriters. There are no prerequisites to sign up, but having an instrument that you know how to play a few chords on will be helpful if you want to complete the assignments.

Course Description:
In Adrianne Lenker's songwriting workshop, we will begin with the understanding that songs emerge from an ever-mysterious source within us – our subconscious, our inner child, magic, the universe. Our primary task as songwriters is to ensure this source remains unblocked and unhindered. This workshop will cover how Adrianne navigates this unblocking process throughout all facets of life to get back to the place where songs come from.

Building upon this open foundation, we delve into song craft, touching on key elements of Adrianne’s approach. We'll explore how open tunings can transform the guitar into a landscape of drones and bass lines, welcoming resonant melodies to emerge. We’ll consider how various guitar techniques (e.g. strummed cowboy chords, fingerpicking) affect the expression of the songwriter's identity. Lyrically, we'll examine the process of drawing from personal experiences to create lyrics that balance the specific with the universal. Throughout the workshop, students will learn to write lyrics that highlight the beauty and magic often overlooked in our daily existence, revealing the depth that lies beneath the veneer of the mundane.

Join us in January as Adrianne gives our community insight into her process. You will leave the course with several new original songs of your own, and with new connections to fellow songwriters all over the world.

For more information, contact: Jacob Daneman | Pitch Perfect PR -
jacob at pitchperfectpr.com

Buck Meek's album Haunted Mountain is quite different from Big Thief but very enjoyable. Title track is a favorite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv8uI2VXppA

first single from adrianne's new album out on tuesday

here's the single, "ruined"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iypx43W_YRg

it's lovely, interesting to hear her on piano. a rather different arrangement to the version big thief were playing earlier this year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvJPMZb_mls

lol whenever james does those autotuned pitch-shifted backing vocals it's so goofy

album is apparently bright future which means we can expect this will be on it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTS83wW0Oa0

I know this alb has its own thread, but since we come here more often:

December 8, 2023
For Immediate Release

BIG THIEF RELEASE NEW EDITION OF
DEBUT ALBUM, MASTERPIECE

LAUNCH BIG THIEF KARAOKE CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE

REMASTERED VINYL AVAILABLE NOW

Today, Big Thief release a new edition of their 2016 debut album Masterpiece. For the first time on 4AD, the album containing much-loved songs ‘Paul’, ‘Real Love’ and title track ‘Masterpiece’ is available, remastered and reissued.

Masterpiece was recorded in July 2015 at an old house that they turned into a studio on Lake Champlain with producer Andrew Sarlo and engineer James Krivchenia (who would go on to become Big Thief's full-time drummer). The resultant debut Big Thief studio album is filled with characters and visceral narratives, songs that pivot in the space of a few words. Adrianne Lenker's voice and guitar playing speak of rich emotional territory with grace and insight. In her words, the record tracks, "the masterpiece of existence, which is always folding into itself, people attempting to connect, to both shake themselves awake and to shake off the numbness of certain points in their life. The interpretations might be impressionistic or surrealistic, but they're grounded in simple things." It soars on what Big Thief fan Sharon Van Etten called "...a real journey, with intelligent stories and twist-and-turn melodies."

Big Thief also launched a karaoke channel on their YouTube today, featuring karaoke versions of the songs on Masterpiece.

BIG THIEF KARAOKE CHANNEL

asterpiece Tracklist:

1. Little Arrow
2. Masterpiece
3. Vegas
4. Real Love
5. Interstate
6. Lorraine
7. Paul
8. Humans
9. Velvet Ring
10. Animals
11. Randy
12. Parallels

Big Thief 2024 Tour Dates:
Sun. Aug. 18 – London, UK @ Gunnersbury Park (w/ PJ Harvey)
Wed. Aug. 21 - Sat. Aug. 24 – Torremolinos, ES @ Canela Party 2024

For more information, contact: Jacob Daneman, Ahmad Asani | Pitch Perfect PR -
jacob at pitchperfectpr.com, ahmad at pitchperfectpr.com

Channel starts here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jFGy2oEMpg

haha that karaoke channel is ingenious

why not have both the original master and the remaster available online I wonder

this cover gets me every time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6YRAUKczyw
Steve Fisher - Anything (Adrianne Lenker Cover)

when she sings harmony ;_;